Page:Natural History, Fishes.djvu/177

Rh others inhabit rivers, some are found only in the fresh-water marshes of tropical countries, and one genus is peculiar to the lake of Baikal, that great Alpine sea of fresh water that lies embosomed among the mountains in the very heart of Asia.

There are three well-marked sub-families of the Gobiadæ, which are thus discriminated.

1. Blennina. The ventrals in this group are very small and thick, consisting of not more than two or three cylindrical rays each, enveloped in the common skin: the head is thick, fat, and obtuse; the lips are thick and fleshy. The body is compressed and lengthened, clothed with minute scales, and enveloped in an unctuous slime. There is one long dorsal, composed almost entirely of unjointed, but flexible rays. About one hundred and seventy species are contained in this sub-family, of which eight are natives of our own seas: the rest are spread over the fresh and salt waters of the countries that border the Atlantic, almost exclusively. Mr. Swainson indeed says, "it appears that this Family is distributed over every part of the world but Asia; or at least it is a singular fact, that in the two best works we yet possess upon the fishes of India, not one species has been recorded." But he has overlooked Salarias, Cirrhibarba, and Opistognathus, which are all Indian genera. The Blennies are almost all fishes of very small size and insignificant appearance, rarely exceeding a few inches in length. To this statement, however, there is one exception, the Wolf-fish, or Sea-cat (Anarrhichas lupus, .), of the northern seas, which is of no infrequent occurrence on the Scottish coasts. This